[quote="Gus"]I think that a proposed fast ferry would be a good idea.
Both HH and Pattaya have their good points and if you have the option of avoiding a 5 hour trip via Bangkok, so much the better.[/quote]

One Bad point I would Highlight that drug traffiickers from the south would have a Ball if there's a ferry sevice from Hua Hin/Cha Am area to Pattaya. so they can distribute their stash much more quicker through the Bang sean/Pattaya/Cholburi and perhaps the southeast region without the worry of parking them drugs in Bangkok where it can be detected.

Johnnyk perhaps the Pataya brigade as you call them won't have fun of Hua Hin. but for many golfers might consider staying a night if want to try The Golf courses on the Hua Hin side of the rim. and also vice versa. It would be very interesting How the Investor of this Ferry Service had made his Homework well or not!
I can imagine students from Stamford, Webster, Silapakorn and Dusit University join together and take a Fun Filled weekend to Pattaya using the Ferry and come back tired on Monday morninng just before class starts!!!!

In Love with Hua Hin since 19naughty9 and it ain't fading!!!
Being a new born Otaku to Japanese Moe Moe/Slice of Life/comedy style Anime!
Titles: K-ON! Lucky Star, Sailor Moon, My Avatar: Miss Mugi Chan! Keyboardist from the Band: Ho-Kago Tea Time (My fable for All Things Japanese knows no boundaries!)

Winkie, Pak Nam Pran Marina is located about 1 km from our place.
See the plan on the contact page of our website.
It's a fairly big marina but in a state of considerable disrepair and neglect.
It was originally built for yachts, but the demand was never there and it's used almost exclusively by fishing boats.

A crossing time of 1 1/2 - 2 hours sounds very optimistic to me for a distance of approx. 55 nautical miles.
One of the biggest problems is the unpredictability of the winds in the Gulf.
Our 70 ft seagoing vessel has only been able to go out twice in almost a month now due to 3-4 metre high waves, for example.

We haven't heard anything about any such ferry service plans - but you never know.

We are presently building a 30 ft electric eco-speedboat (first one ever in Thailand and probably Asia) which will have a top speed of around 25 kn (45 km/h). It will seat up to 20 people and have a toilet. The boat should be finished early March.

Although we will not be offering a scheduled serviced to Pattaya (because of the weather problem and the fact that we are not convinced there is sufficient demand to warrant it), we will be prepared to take special bookings of up to 10 persons (in order to retain speed) to cross the gulf on calm days.

That type of boat in the swells and hummocky seas of the Gulf of Thailand especially during the NE winds during the winter high season will beat the living crap out of you. I am glad to see they put a disclaimer that the ride may be a bit"Bumpy"

LL

"Relax said the nightman we are programmed to recieve. You can check out any time you like but you can never leave"

If the web site is predicting a journey time of 3-4 hours it would not be majorly different from a taxi if you take into account, hotel door to hotel door, ferry schedule against a booked taxi.
Plus sea sickness tablets sound like they will be the in-cruise meal